Parking garages and other parking facilities often include many types of equipment and devices such as entry systems, exit systems, pay stations, security equipment, etc. In addition, parking facilities usually require that a cashier or other attendant be present at the parking facility to interact with parkers. For example, the cashier may interact with monthly and transient parkers, receive payments, and provide customer service and assistance. However, such cashiers and other attendants create a substantial cost for the parking facilities and may not have the experience or ability to handle some customer service requests.
It would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus that overcame the drawbacks of the prior art and provided a way to reduce, or even eliminate, the need for cashiers or other attendants at a parking facility while facilitating remote customer service and support.